Pragma (Eros)
by The Readers Muse
Summary: "Nothing good will come of this," the red-head responded. Smooth and calm like snide emotionlessness was a mask he'd learned to control from the cradle.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars. Everything belongs to whoever owns them, my wishful thinking aside.

 **Authors Note #1:** I thought it would be interesting to explore the idea that Hux and Poe had met before the events of "The Force Awakens." This is the first time I have written any Gingerpilot, so that's that on that my dudes.

 **Disclaimer:** sexual content, one night stand, pre-The Force Awakens, anal sex, oral sex, smidge of body worship, nudity, adult language, and a surprising amount of feelings and romance in contrast to the lube ratio.

 **Pragma (Eros)**

 _ **Chapter One**_

It was the small noise of protest that made him look up. That made him try and kiss him again, even when the red-head turned his head to the side. This time with an arrogant arc to the dismissal, coy as it was. Making him stop just to ask as the play of the man's cheekbones cut violent and sallow in the low light.

"What is it?" he murmured carefully - lips still burning from where they'd grazed across the man's stubble moments before. Curious despite the warning signs. Pulled in like light to a black hole as the red head tilted his chin and eyed him wearily. Taking him in from head to toe before swallowing the rest of his drink with barely a grimace despite the fact they were drinking the same bottom-barrel swill. The kind of rot-gut that eats through your insides unless you eat it first.

"Nothing good will come of this," the red-head responded. Smooth and calm like snide emotionlessness was a mask he'd learned to control from the cradle.

And maybe he had.

 _Force_ , _if_ _he_ _knew_.

He'd only met the man a few hours ago. Catching the glint of ginger hair from across the crowded club as the man crossed through the sea of bodies to the bar. Walking like a man who expected others to part in front of him. And for the most part, they did. The man had the 'murder walk' down to an exact science. Taking in the strobing lights and writhing bodies like he was holding court and simultaneously above it all before he pushed back his hair and crooked a finger at the bartender.

It'd been lust at first sight, if he was being completely honest. And frankly, he couldn't think of a better way to wait out the span of hours until his transport finished refueling and some routine maintenance.

"Oh, I don't know. I have a pretty solid track record when it comes to this kind of thing," he returned easily, signalling to the bartender to pour them another round.

The corner of the man's mouth quirked slightly. Like he was about to smile in spite himself. Muscles loosened by the strength of the club's booze and the clinging vapor exhaled from the hookas on the far side of the room. Every part of his rigid lines and iron-clad discipline just screaming for a night of freedom.

He had a soft spot for the tough nuts to crack.

The ones who really needed to just let go for a little while.

But he wasn't stupid either.

He knew enough to know that the man was receptive.

 _If he played his cards right._ _  
_  
"You're very confident," the red-head hummed, allowing him to move a half-step closer as they leaned against the bar. Tipping his chin up enough that he could feel the warmth of the man's breath against his neck. The sensation was so ground-breaking it almost made him shiver. Making him wonder just what the hell was in the water around here until those pale blue eyes settled into arrogant slits to watch him.

And just like that, it was impossible not to respond.

"With good reason," he returned, leaning in just enough to part the man's lips with his and press white heat against white heat. Kissing him like it was a competition and an exercise in lazy-finesse all in one. Unable to remember the last time someone had affected him like this as he pushed the envelope - trying to get closer. Feeling greedy and maybe even a little bit desperate as he inhaled laundry-starch and faded gun-metal before the man moved away again. Body language still wary despite the pink tint that was spreading in the spaces between the freckles that dotted faintly across the man's cheeks.

"So you say," the red-head murmured, just shy of breathless this time. Seeming to realize the same moment he did that sometime between then and now their fingers had met across the pitted surface of the bar counter. Trading barely-there brushes before the man curled the digits away again.

"I do," he grinned, smoky low and slow like he wasn't already in desperate need of readjusting the cut of his trousers. Making no effort to hide the way he was eying the dress coat the man was wearing. Appreciating the black military style and how it clung in all the right places, before his thoughts ran in a different direction. Wondering what it would be like to be the one who got to take it off. Preferably in a bedroom.

Still, he wasn't that far gone not to wonder what had the guy so skittish. It wasn't like this was the type of place that cared who you were or where you were going. It was a deep-port dive where the only thing that mattered was if you had enough credits for the space you were taking up.

He watched the man's body language as he nursed his drink. Leaning his hip against the bar as he made an innocent show out of stretching. There was no dichotomy into nights like this and certainly no ill-intent. Just mutual pleasure and a good memory or two for when you were gone and good things were hard to come by.

 _So why was this guy so tense?_

 _He was here, after all._

 _You didn't come to a place like this if you didn't want something- or someone._

 _Maybe he just needed to hear the right thing._

"Listen," he started, nudging at the point of the man's shoulder with an easy sort of comradery he could tell made the man uncomfortable. "If the morning after is what you're worried about, don't. I'm on the first transport out anyway. And if it's something else, well, I'm also fine with sitting here and drinking until neither of us can walk straight. I'm flexible that way. You're here- I'm here, and for right now, I like that. No matter what happens next."

He wasn't exactly surprised to realize he meant it. But the man's snort made him suppress a laugh anyway. Heady with liquor and the high stakes banter.

"Does that line work often?" the red-head asked. Arching a brow at him like he thought he was being utterly ridiculous.

"I'll let you know, considering its the first time I've tried it," he returned with a smile. Catching his reflection in the dirty stainless steel across from them as his expression went roguish.

Somewhere on the other side of the bar a woman laughed. High, throaty and full of life as a chorus of male voice rose up after like an echo. Normally it would be the kind of thing he'd turn to look at. But this time looking away wasn't even on his mind. There was something about this guy he couldn't shake. A presence that existed somewhere between an open invitation and the pitching whine of a phaser powering up for the kill. In his defense, walking the line between the two possibilities was almost irresistible.

"You know, I actually believe you," the red-head finally murmured. Smirking fully this time - but still not quite a smile - as he finished his drink and let his hand drop underneath the bar-counter.

"I have a room," the man continued, passing him a nondescript key card under the cover of the table. Thin fingers brushing against his calluses. "Follow me in a half an hour and do try not to be seen, hmm? The code on the card is only good for the next hour, so I suggest you don't keep me waiting."

He was caught off guard again when the man paused long enough to kiss the corner of his mouth before he moved away. Trusting the slightly lighter gravity of the space port as he hid the pass-key in his fist and wobbled through the aftershocks. Unable to help the hand that came up, brushing absently at his lower lip. Still able to feel the sharp of the man's teeth as he stopped himself from turning around to watch him leave.

The grin on his face was indecent before he hid it by knocking back the rest of his drink and tossing some credits onto the bar to settle the tab.

Seemed like this guy was full of surprises after all.

* * *

 **A/N:** There will be one more chapter, stay tuned. Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think.

 **Reference:**

\- Pragma: love that is driven by the head, not the heart.

\- Eros: a passionate physical and emotional love based on aesthetic enjoyment; stereotype of romantic love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars. Everything belongs to whoever owns them, my wishful thinking aside.

 **Authors Note #1:** I thought it would be interesting to explore the idea that Hux and Poe had met before the events of "The Force Awakens." This is the first time I have written any Gingerpilot, so that's that on that my dudes.

 **Disclaimer:** sexual content, one-night stand, pre-The Force Awakens, anal sex, oral sex, smidge of body worship, nudity, adult language, and a surprising amount of feelings and romance in contrast to the lube ratio.

 **Pragma (Eros)**

 _ **Chapter Two**_

He wasn't entirely surprised when the red-head caught him in a fierce, desperate kiss the moment the door hissed closed behind him. Hungry in an unhinged way that made his cock ache with sympathy when their hips ground together. Feeling how hard the man was already as he let himself get pinned against the opposite wall. Head thudding back to reveal his throat. An invitation his lover took up gladly. Dragging his teeth down the length of it before pressing sharp little bites into his skin.

 _Wait_. _Something_ _wasn't_ _quite_ -

He managed to get a handful of ginger hair as the man nosed into his neck, rumbling something intelligible into the crook. Eventually succeeding in tipping the man's head up for a kiss, only to get the same back brutal enough that he could tell it was compensating for something.

He tugged at the man's hair pointedly. Shaking his head as the shadows of the room made it look like the color was leaking from the roots. Spreading a flush across what seemed like miles of pale skin as the red-head tried and failed to free himself.

"We have time," he reminded gently. Trying to settle any scattered nerves as his lover pressed him flat again. Rubbing at the zipper of his flight jacket before-

"Only a fool thinks there's ever enough," the man snarled. Color high on his cheeks in a way that could have been rage just as much as arousal. Realizing with a rush of pity and second-hand embarrassment that the man probably didn't know any other way to feel.

He could have said a thousand things.

Diffusive things.

Soft things.

Anticipatory things.

Instead-

"What do you want?" he asked simply. Breathing boldly into the hush as the whites of the man's eyes expanded rather than narrowed.  
The _'how can I help you?' 'How can I make this okay?' 'How can I fix you?'_ was silent. But the man stilled like he'd shouted it into deep space anyway. Expression caught between affront that it would even be a question, and as if the concept itself was novel.

At the risk of sounding vain, he knew what want looked like on other people. And this wasn't it. Not exactly. It was more like no one had asked him the question before. Like he'd never had the choice or worse- hadn't known there was an option in the first place.

He hadn't realized that watching someone's entire world opening up could have so much sharp parts mixed in with the good.

"Hey, yeah- look at me," he coaxed. Maintaining a careful line between coddling and affirming. Keeping to the truth as best he could so the man wouldn't think it was out of pity. _Because_ _it_ _wasn't_. This was about righting a wrong someone else had inflicted. About being able to give and take at the same time. "You don't have to impress me. I don't know you. You don't even know my name. You can have whatever you want. Let me give it to you. Just for tonight."

He was aware of two things as the red-head reshuffled the weight of want versus need inside the privacy of his mind. One, that the man was carrying a concealed blaster inside his coat. And two, that he found that fact not the least bit surprising.

"Just for tonight," the man finally agreed. Disbelieving but wanting as the man's chin tipped up, searching his face with a sharp look. Like he expected to see a lie and didn't know what to do when he didn't.

He didn't know what to say to that.

But as it turned out, he didn't have to say anything.

"Who are you?" the man whispered again. Like he was the most impossible thing he'd ever come across before jerking forward and kissing him before he could answer.

The red-head never said it. And he never pushed for the words. Knowing if he did the man would be gone. And for some reason that was the last thing he wanted. Instead, he took his cues from the suggestive shyness that gradually crept into the man's movements. Kisses turning softer and less dominant as the man allowed him more and more control over the situation. Gradually opening himself to the concept of getting rather than giving as he nudged the red-head's coat off his shoulders. Taking it slow as all that iron control gradually started to melt away.

The lights in the room were low, set into deep wells in the floor-plating opposite the long lone of windows. Casting strange, multi-colored shadows against the glow of the city. It was the view that made him raise a brow, however. Because despite the air outside rippling with port-exhaust, you could still see the distant churn of the violet-green sea.

 _The red-head had credits, that was for damn sure._

 _You couldn't rent a place like this if you didn't._

He didn't say anything when the man rolled onto his stomach. It was too fragile for words. Instead he shook his head and gently nudged him over onto his back. Wanting to see him _._ But even that seemed to come with negotiation. Looking down at him as the man gnawed on the side of his cheek. Fisting the edges of his rucked up shirt like vulnerability wasn't just an emotion, but a hidden wound he carried with him always.

He was smart enough not to let the feeling gain any more ground. Smiling slow and heated as he leaned down and stole a kiss from the red-head's lips. Tugging at the plush with his teeth - just long enough to make the man moan - before pulling away again. Mapping out all the angles and freckles until he forgot to be self-conscious and instead started arching into his touch.

"You have an entire galaxy on your skin," he murmured lowly. Tracing his way down the man's navel with the blistered calluses from flight training that'd never had the opportunity to fade.

"You don't need to find something worthwhile in my imperfections," his lover snapped. Awkward and angry like he couldn't handle the compliment. "Platitudes aren't what I require from you."

He snorted a laugh into the crease between the man's thigh and right hip. Eying the interested sway of cock - already blushing a pretty, splotchy red, just like the rest of him - before he made his move.

The red-head let go of all the air in him like he'd sucker-punched him in the gut instead of closed his mouth around the tip of his cock. Suckling gently as the man grabbed handfuls out of the sheets and clenched hard. Like the pleasure was something to fight off rather than enjoy. With the vulnerability of that need still a weakness that deserved to be hidden.

But he didn't let the man curl away. Instead he opened his mouth wider and took more of him in. Using his hands to pry his lover's fingers from their stranglehold in the sheets and tangle with his instead. Watching through the fan of his lashes as the man forgot to pull away. Fingers eventually just as insistent, just as greedy as they curled around his.

He let his mouth fall slack. Rolling his tongue down the man's crown until the red-head bucked up. Fucking his mouth. And for a long moment he allowed it. Cock pressing painfully against the zipper of his slacks as he worked his free hand into his pocket and cracked open a tube of slick.

The muscles in the man's belly delineated – straining – as he let himself go. So close to the edge he could taste the tart of pre-cum. Forced to let go of his lover's fingers and support the unsteady jerk of the man's hips as he tried to thrust faster into his mouth. Barely noticing when he slid his other hand underneath the soft of his ass. Parting the red-head's cheeks with his fingers as he hazed a stuttering groan.

 _Force. He wished he knew his name._

 _All the better for screaming it later._

He kept up the suction as he eased the slick around the man's hole. Grinning privately to himself when his partner shifted but made no move to protest. Letting him get used to the pressure as he slowly eased his finger inside. It didn't take long after that for the fall. Because whether it was the novelty or the rough of his finger rubbing experimentally inside, the man came down his throat with a high sound and an almost painfully violent cry.

He swallowed with his face half-hidden in the dusky hair and freckles that colored the man's thighs. Breathing hard as he rested his hands over the jut of the man's hips, kneading lightly, until the man surprised him by gripped his hands just as tightly. Confirming the fact that neither of them knew what to do in moments like this but just hold on- for as long as the other would allow it.

 _Who_ _was_ _this_ _guy?_ _Really?_

 _It wasn't usually like this, at least not for him._

 _Sex was sex, ranging the whole spectrum from good to spectacular._

 _But this?_

 _This felt like something more._

 _Almost as if-_

He shook himself free from the heated maze of his own thoughts to focus on the here and now. Marveling a bit as his tongue chased the tart of the man's release. As much as he liked pleasing his partners this way, he didn't usually go this far. He could never really get over the taste. But this time the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Not that pulling back at the right moment was an impossible feat, but more that he didn't want to. He wanted to give that to him. To show him that even _this_ could be made up of good intentions and genuine things. Not owed favors or cold transactions to be cashed in somewhere along the line.

But the best part was that he could tell the man was practically _wrecked_ by it. Seeing the realization sink in in real time as he looked up at him. Panting. Fingers kneading into his - self-soothing - like he wasn't even aware of it.

"That was-" the red-head started.

"-nothing yet," he rasped with a grin. Mouth cock-sore and hoarse but lips still jumping into a smile as he leaned down and kissed away the furrow that'd taken up residence at the interruption. Using the opportunity to rub another blurt of slick around the man's pucker. Swallowing the noises that'd started falling from the red-head's lips in earnest now. Circling around the rim of his hole - making obscene noises in the slick.

"If you'd- _ah_ \- if you just get on with it..." the man started again. Cock already trying to perk up in the cradle of his thighs. Pink and pretty, just like the rest of him. "Ridiculous...you aren't even undressed."

"Are you always this bossy?" he slung back. Grin sloppy this time as the man reached up and tugged on his hair in retaliation. Taking the hint and kicking off his socks as the red-head yanked on the buttons of his slacks. Pulling them down until he had to arch his back to make space between them.

The disgruntled sneer the man flashed him had little heat in it. Making him burble out a laugh as he added another finger. Making his lover groan and start to tense as he loosened him up slowly.

"Easy, easy," he murmured, shifting so he could kick his slacks off the rest of the way. Cock straining against his briefs until he dealt with them as well. Skin tones clashing as he pressed against him fully for the first time. Skin on skin and so warm he swore the man was hiding a supernova underneath.

There was a brief hum of pride when the man eyed his cock. Expression greedy before his eyes darted away. Cupping his elbows awkwardly before it registered that the red-head was trying to urge him down. Wondering off-hand if the man could taste himself there when he kissed him bodily. Loosening all the tension left in his spine as his lover demanded just as much as he gave. Kissing him like he'd never get enough, but was damn well willing to try.

He groaned, surprised how invested he was. There was just something about the red-head that kept tugging at him. That made him _want_ to make it good. _To make it last._ Wanting it to mean something long after he was gone. It was dangerous, he knew. _Force, the man practically exhaled poison._ That was how over his head he was. But he didn't stop.

He'd always been drawn to dangerous things.

"You ready?" he asked. Jacking himself slowly as the red-head watched him through the half-dark. Eyes burning. Demanding and wanting, but still not stooping down to ask for it. Not with words anyway.

The man didn't answer. Instead he shifted, bending his leg at the knee so it freed space for him to part his thighs and press close. Firming against his ass as the man's hole actually fluttered at the pressure.

He was caught on wanting to marvel on it as he watched the man abuse his lower lip with his teeth. Gasping like he was on the edge again already as he teased him with another shallow push. Close, but not quite enough to break ground. Refusing to let the man shove down and get it over with as he gripped the ginger's hips without letting his nails bite in.

He had a feeling the man had known his fair share of bruises.

And he didn't want to be the cause of another one.

Not like this.

"Hey. Stop it. _My way_ ," he coaxed, smacking his flank lightly as the man practically trembled. Layers shivering off until the expression on the man's face was painfully genuine. Open. Wanting. Maybe even uncomfortably young.

He could see the red-head struggling with it before he tossed all that caution and pride to the wind and chanced it. Making him picture, just for a second, what it would be like to tease out all the man's bad habits and replace them with good ones. Imagining waking up in the morning and having him there beside him. Dragging a soft, lazy mouth down his shoulder before the man finally woke up and pinned him to the sheets. Memorizing the curve of his smile as his lover give it up to him willingly. A hard won privilege only he was allowed.

"I need-"

"I know."

He pushed in slowly, unable to echo the groan that came up from the depths of the ginger's throat as the man's tightness wrapped around him like a glove. So close already he didn't know what to do with himself as he worked them through a slow, careful thrust. Then another. And another. And-

"Let me in," he hummed, so close to his ear the red-head actually shivered. Stubble catching against his cheek as the man turned into him. Rubbing against him like an Aldraxian sand-cat as his hair fell in sweaty strings in front of his face. "I promise I'll catch you."

It didn't make sense.

Things this close to the edge never did.

But something must have clicked because all sudden, the moment he put his hand on the man's neck, every muscle in his body just went lax. Offering up a trust that was almost as blinding as the peak they fell over seconds later.

It was safe to say he hadn't seen either of them coming.

* * *

He wasn't surprised when he woke up the next morning alone. Stretching into the sheets as his toes curled into nothing but mattress and thermal layers. Sore and sated and yeah- maybe even a little disappointed until he caught sight of the key-card he'd used to get in propped up against the vase on the table by the door like a post-script. Making him smile to himself as he tossed on his clothes and made it to the transport with a cool quarter hour to spare.

He kept it in his pocket for months afterwards. Stuck more than anything on why the man would leave it behind when he'd clearly erased any trace he'd been there at all. Everything save for that cheap piece of disposable plastic. Wondering, every time he felt the outline firm in his pocket, if the red-head was ever thinking of him at the same time.

* * *

The next time he saw him was in the briefing room in the resistance headquarters looking back at him from a holographic intel card. Looking a little bit older, and far more stern. Red hair gelled back and First Order uniform arranged beyond pristine. The insignia of a General pinned proudly to his chest. And for the first time, a name - _General_ _Armitage_ _Hux_ \- emblazoned in red in the air between him and the nearest exit as the intelligence head started her briefing.

He didn't process anything after that. Stuck seeing double long after the console powered down and the man's face flickered out of existence.

The bitterness of that betrayal was as sharp as the realization that he had no right to feel the emotion at all.

The man had warned him after all.

This wasn't going to end well.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think.


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